My nickname at iContact is “Words.” And the designer who sits next to me, her nickname is “Pictures.” Together, we make a great team.

Combining words (short-and-sweet written messages) with pictures (complementary thumbnail images) is the key to making your social media posts pop. The teaming up of words and pictures is so effective that iContact is now offering a thumbnail selection tool that lets you do just that: choose any image you want to accompany the emails you post to Facebook.

How the New Tool Works

Here’s how the new thumbnail selection tool works:

Unlike Facebook, which searches a linked page for images and only lets you choose a thumbnail image from these, we let you attach any image you want to your Facebook post. For example, you could use your company logo even if it does not appear in your email message.

When you create your Facebook post in iContact, just click select image to attach a picture from your image libraryor to upload a new image.

The thumbnail image you select will be the same one that appears in news feeds and on walls any time Facebook users like your email from their inboxes or like your Facebook post in their news feeds.

What to Remember About Your Images

When you choose your images, you’ll want to keep a few things in mind:

Images must be at least 50 pixels wide by 50 pixels tall.

Square images work best.

The aspect ratio of an image cannot be greater than 3:1.

Images larger than 70kb are not supported by iContact.

The universal “no” symbol (a red circle with a diagonal line through it) will appear over an image that does not meet size requirements.

Image selection is not mandatory. If an image is not selected, a thumbnail image will simply not appear next to the email link you post to Facebook.

Why You Should Use the New Tool

Thumbnail images reinforce your written messages, draw attention to your Facebook posts, and contribute to your brand’s visual identity. Because you control which images appear in all Facebook likes of your posts, you also have the unique opportunity to achieve brand consistency in the world of social media.

We hope you enjoy this new tool! It’s just one in a long list of new Social Tools features coming your way. We’ll be in touch as soon as we have more to share.

Read the latest from our blog

Just like starting a new workout regimen, implementing an effective email marketing strategy requires healthy, daily habits. This not only establishes a routine to keep you on track, but it also ensures your campaigns are always optimized for success. Not sure where to start? No worries. I’ve put together seven MORE…

Despite the fact that many of us parents have loved having the kids around over the long summer break, you’ll forgive us if we raise a cheeky glass of wine in celebration of their return to school. And parents aren’t the only ones who are celebrating. “Back to School” represents MORE…

Segmentation doesn’t just deliver the right message to the right people; it also can improve your open and click rates, and even drive your overall email ROI. But how exactly can you segment your subscribers, as well as increase engagement, to take advantage of these benefits? Start by segmenting your MORE…